Canada and the Cold War
In the years following World War II, tensions in the Cold War “heated up.” During World
War II, the Soviet army had occupied countries of eastern Europe. The Soviet leader,
Stalin, refused to withdraw Soviet troops from these countries after Hitler had been
defeated. The nations of eastern Europe became Soviet “satellite states.” A communist
government was set up in each country that Stalin controlled. Soviet advisors moved in.
Anti-communists were sent to labour camps. Stalin was creating a buffer zone to protect
the Soviet Union. He was determined that it would never again be attacked from the
west.
- The Soviet satellite nations were sealed off from contact with non-communist
countries. Travel was restricted and trade was cut off. Even news from outside was not
allowed to enter these countries. Other nations watched as eastern Europe became
communist. Fear grew in Canada, the United States, and western Europe that
communism would take over the world, just as Hitler and the Nazis had tried to do.
- There were fundamental differences between the communist government of the
Soviet Union and the democratic governments of Canada, the United States, and other
Western nations. In the communist Soviet Union, the government controlled most of
the property and businesses. It also controlled the individual freedoms of the people,
including where they lived, worked, and travelled. Individual freedoms were considered
secondary to the needs of the state and the people as a whole. In democratic
governments, on the other hand, property and businesses were owned by private
individuals and groups. Basic individual rights and freedoms were set out in the
countries’ constitutions. The democratic nations of the West, including Canada, did not
want to lose these basic rights in a communist takeover.
- In 1946, Winston Churchill gave a speech in the United States. Referring to Europe, he
told Americans that “an iron curtain has descended across the continent.” On one side
were the democratic countries of western Europe. On the other side were the
communist countries controlled by Stalin. Of course, there was no real iron curtain, but
there were minefields to stop people from fleeing to the West. There were also armed
soldiers ready to shoot anyone attempting to escape.
Canada and NATO
- The year 1948 was a crucial one for the Cold War. The Soviet Union first tried to take
control of the city of Berlin. Then, Soviet troops moved into position to seize control of
Czechoslovakia. In 1949, the Soviet Union also exploded its first atomic bomb. The
United States, Canada, and other Western powers viewed this development with alarm.
The atomic bomb was a weapon of mass destruction. The Cold War was no longer just a
struggle over power and influence, it now involved a frightening arms race. It was
possible that Soviet spies in Canada had obtained secret information about making the
atomic bomb from atomic energy research in Montreal. Some new defence measures
had to be taken.
- In 1947, Escott Reid, a Canadian Department of External Affairs officer, first publicly
spoke about an Atlantic Defence alliance. Canada’s Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent,
who became Canada’s leader after Mackenzie King’s retirement in 1948, was also a
strong supporter of such an alliance. On April 4, 1949 the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) was formed. Twelve nations signed the treaty. They were Canada,
Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway,
Portugal, and the United States. By 1955, these countries had been joined by Greece,
Turkey, and West Germany.
- The NATO alliance committed its members to collective security. All members
promised to defend each other in the event of an attack. It was hoped that the
combined strength of the NATO alliance would discourage the Soviet Union from taking
any hostile action against NATO members. Canada sent 6500 troops and 12 fighter
squadrons to stations in western Europe.
- The Soviet Union responded in 1955 by forming its own military alliance, the Warsaw
Pact. Its members were the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East
Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. Thus in 1955, just 10 years after World War II,
Europe was once again divided into two hostile camps, the NATO and Warsaw Pact
countries.
Canada and NORAD
- By the mid 1950s, both the United States and the Soviet Union had nuclear missiles.
Atomic bombs had been followed in the 1950s by hydrogen bombs (H-bombs). The
United States exploded its first hydrogen bomb in 1952. The Soviet Union exploded its
H-bomb in 1953. Hydrogen bombs were 40 times more powerful than the atomic bomb
dropped on Hiroshima. The nuclear warheads were capable of wiping out a large city.
- Canada was in a crucial position, located between the Soviet Union and the United
States. Missiles fired at the United States would probably come across the North Pole.
They could reach their targets in a matter of hours. A means of early detection had to be
found. Suddenly, the Canadian Arctic became of immense strategic importance. Canada
seemed to have little choice but to become involved in an even closer military alliance
with the United States.
- Three chains of radar stations were built to detect an air invasion of North America.
The Pine-tree Radar System was built along the Canadian / American border. The MidCanada line ran along the 55 degree north parallel, and the Distant Early Warning Line
(DEW Line) was situated along the Arctic coastline. Ships and aircraft provided radar
surveillance on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
- This defence cooperation between Canada and the United States increased in 1957
when the North American Air Defence Command (NORAD) was established. NORAD
brought the air defence of the two countries under a fully-integrated joint command.
The commander was an American; the deputy-commander was a Canadian. The main
operation centre for NORAD was build deep within the Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.
A NORAD centre was also constructed at North Bay, Ontario. If there was a nuclear
attack, the defence of North America would be directed from NORAD headquarters.
From there, nuclear missiles could be fired against the Soviet Union. It was hoped that
the NORAD defences would stop the Soviet Union from striking at North America.